[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 244 (Tuesday, December 23, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60118-60119]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-23647]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2025-1067; FXES11140400000-256-FF04EF4000]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Sand Skink and Blue-Tailed Mole
Skink; Osceola County, FL; Categorical Exclusion
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt
of an application from Osceola County (Westside Technology Park)
(applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered
Species Act. The applicant requests the ITP to take the federally
listed sand skink and blue-tailed mole skink incidental to the
construction of a County park in Osceola County, Florida. We request
public comment on the application, which includes the applicant's
proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP), and on the Service's
preliminary determination that the proposed permitting action may be
eligible for a categorical exclusion pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Department of the Interior's (DOI)
NEPA regulations, and the DOI Departmental Manual (DM). To make this
preliminary determination, we prepared a draft screening form and NEPA
statement for HCPs, which is available for public review. We invite
comment from the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies.
DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before January 22,
2026.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: The documents related to this notice, as well
as any comments and other materials that we receive, will be available
for public inspection online in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2025-1067 at
https://www.regulations.gov.
Submitting Comments: If you wish to submit comments on any of the
documents, you may do so in writing by one of the following methods:
Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2025-1067;
U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R4-ES-2025-1067; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Samantha Hermann, by U.S. mail (see
ADDRESSES), by telephone at 850-347-2671 or via email at
[email protected]. Individuals in the United States who are
deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial
711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay
services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay
services offered within their country to make international calls to
the point-of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Service, announce receipt of an
application from Osceola County (Westside Technology Park) (applicant)
for an ITP, also known as a section 10(a)(1)(B) permit, under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.). The applicant requests the ITP to take federally listed sand
skinks (Neopseps (=Plestiodon) reynoldsi) and blue-tailed mole skinks
(Eumeces egregius lividus) (skinks) incidental to the construction and
operation of a County park in Osceola County, Florida.
We request public comment on the application, which includes the
applicant's HCP, and on the Service's preliminary determination that
this proposed ITP may qualify for a categorical exclusion pursuant to
NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), DOI's NEPA regulations (43 CFR 46), and
DOI's DM (516 DM 8.5(C)(2)). To make this preliminary determination, we
prepared a draft screening form and NEPA statement for HCPs, which is
available for public review.
Proposed Project
The applicant requests a 5-year ITP to take skinks via the
conversion of approximately 0.47 acres (ac) of occupied nesting,
foraging, and sheltering skink habitat incidental to the construction
and operation of Westside Technology Park on 40 acs, Parcel #07-25-27-
000000-200000 in Section 07, Township 25 South, Range 27 East, Osceola
County, Florida.
The applicant proposes to mitigate for take of the skinks by
purchasing credits equivalent to 0.94 ac of skink-occupied habitat
within a Service-approved conservation bank. The Service would require
the applicant to purchase the credits no later than 30 days after the
issuance of the permit and prior to any clearing activities. The
applicant will provide educational opportunities through signage and QR
codes that will focus on native plants and wildlife including the sand
and blue-tailed mole skinks and their habitat.
Our Preliminary Determination
The Service has made a preliminary determination that reasonably
foreseeable effects of the applicant's proposed project, including the
construction of the county park and associated clearing, would have a
minor effect on the skinks and the human environment and that no
extraordinary circumstances in 43 CFR 46.215 apply. Reasonably
foreseeable effects encompass effects of implementation of the action
including effects of the action in addition to other past, present, and
reasonably foreseeable future effects.
Therefore, we have preliminarily determined that the proposed ESA
section 10(a)(1)(B) permit would be a low-effect ITP that may qualify
for application of a categorical exclusion (516 DM 8.5(C)(2)), pursuant
to NEPA and DOI's NEPA regulations and DM. A low-effect ITP is one that
would result in (1) negligible or minor individual or cumulative
effects on species covered in the HCP; (2) no significant effect on the
human environment; and (3) reasonably foreseeable effects that would
not result in significant effects to the human environment.
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the application and the comments to
determine whether to issue the requested ITP. We will also conduct an
intra-Service consultation pursuant to section 7 of the ESA to evaluate
the effects of the proposed take. After considering the preceding and
other matters, we will determine whether the permit issuance criteria
of section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA have been met. If met, the Service
will issue ITP number PER 21116185 to Osceola County.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, be aware that
your entire comment, including your personal identifying information,
may be made available to the public. If you submit a comment at https://www.regulations.gov, your entire comment, including any personal
identifying information, will be posted on the website. If you submit a
hardcopy comment that includes personal identifying information, such
as your address, phone number, or
[[Page 60119]]
email address, you may request at the top of your document that we
withhold this information from public review. However, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Moreover, all submissions from organizations or businesses, and
from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials
of organizations or businesses, will be made available for public
disclosure in their entirety.
Authority
The Service provides this notice under ESA section 10(c) (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.32) and under
NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and DOI's implementing regulations (43
CFR part 46).
Jose Rivera,
Field Supervisor, Division of Environmental Review, Florida Ecological
Services Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2025-23647 Filed 12-22-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P